


Burn It All Away

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Gratsu [79]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Curses, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Promises, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25339147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: “You’ve got to come back to me,” Natsu whispered instead, searching Gray’s face for some sign that the Ice Mage knew that he was there, and finding none. “Please…” he pleaded, voice catching, eyes beginning to sting again, and he buried his head against the hand he was cradling, willing the Ice Mage to come back to him. To give him the chance to apologise, even if Gray didn’t want to forgive him for this.To promise that he would stop chasing the past, as long as Gray had a future.Please…
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster
Series: Gratsu [79]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1188718
Comments: 2
Kudos: 53
Collections: Gratsu Week 2020





	Burn It All Away

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that if you want to talk to me about my fics and writing, or anime/shows/games in general then you can now find me on discord [The Unholy Trinity](https://discord.gg/6sSddAWa5c).

Natsu knew that the others were in the infirmary, he could smell them, could hear the soft murmur of their voices, although their words were lost to him. He ignored them though, focused on the feel of the hand cradled between his own, bandaged hands. Cold skin running far too hot as he curled his fingers around Gray’s, one ear always trained on the strained breathing, the heartbeat that was too slow. His entire world had narrowed down to the Ice Mage curled on the bed, facing him, although it had been over a day now since Gray had even opened his eyes, and longer still since he had been able to recognise the Dragon-slayer. That time was written in the pain lining Gray’s face, and in the slow, unrelenting spread of blood-red marks across Gray’s skin.

“Gray,” he murmured, ignoring the lull in the conversation around him, bringing Gray’s hand up and kissing it. Nose wrinkling, as beneath the scent of fresh fallen snow and pine, and the growing smell of sweat and sickness was something sweeter and far more deadly. He couldn’t put a name to it, but he knew that it had something to do with the markings on his partner’s skin, and the curse that had put Gray in this state. _My fault, this is all my fault,_ he didn’t voice that thought aloud, as last time Lucy and Erza and the others had reacted badly to that claim, desperately trying to convince him that it wasn’t his fault, that he couldn’t blame himself. But they hadn’t been there…

_Natsu had only half been paying attention as Gray wandered away from him. “The Rune Knights are going to have a field day with all of this,” Gray commented as he looked around, and the Dragon-slayer hummed non-committedly not keen on bringing the Rune Knights in on this, even though he knew that it was more than they could handle themselves. He had been the one to sniff out the hidden entrance in the library where they had been retrieving a magical book – a family heirloom that had been stolen. Uncovering a narrow doorway between two bookcases that had led down into a basement filled to the brink with magical tomes and items. However, Gray seemed more excited by the find that he was, still moving away as he added that most of the things were probably illegal at best, and dangerous at worst._

**_Do we look dangerous…?_ **

_Natsu whirled around at the whispering voice, but the was nothing there, just stacks of books and boxes filled with goodness knew what, and his eyes narrowed. Was this a defence they had triggered? Or was he just imagining things after Gray’s warning that these things probably weren’t safe? He didn’t know, but there was chill creeping up his back, and he turned to follow Gray, suddenly wanting to have his partner in sight even as he heard the Ice Mage teasing him as he added. “Maybe we’ll even get a bonus to make up for the destruction you caused last time.”_

**_We can give you jewels. No…_ ** _There was a pause, and Natsu found himself unable to move, almost holding his breath as he waited for the voice to continue. **We can show you a way to see him again, one more time…**_

_“Him?” Natsu asked, voice low, not understanding the sudden urge to keep this secret, eyes flicking towards where Gray had now passed out of sight._

**_Igneel…_ **

_It had to be a lie. Igneel was gone…dead… The thought of it, the truth that he had lost his father, that he would never get to tell him all the things he had wanted to say was as painful as ever. The year away, focusing on training had dulled the pain a little, but he hadn’t let himself grieve properly, he hadn’t been ready. And now that Fairy Tail was back, that and working and Gray had kept him busy and distracted, and guilt gnawed at him as he realised, he couldn’t remember the last time he allowed himself to truly think about Igneel. He glanced back in the direction of Gray once more, opening his mouth to shout for the Ice Mage and tell him that he had found something to look at. **No, just you…** It was just shy of a command, more of a plea and Natsu found his mouth snapping shut of its own accord and taking a step towards where he thought the voice was coming from and another and another, and with each step he took, all thoughts of what he was doing here, of Gray faded._

**_Here…_ **

**_…follow us…_ **

**_…let us show you…_ **

_Deeper and deeper the voice guided him, soothing him whenever a flicker of doubt would resurface until he found himself standing in front of a large mirror in a gilded frame. Staring at it, he noticed there were little flames_ carved _into the frame, with dragons curled at the corner points, and as he looked, they seemed to stir, blinking open amber eyes to look at him. **You came. You listened. It’s been so long since someone listened. T** he voice seemed to come from all the dragons at once, and there was something about the desperation in their voice that tugged at his heart and pulled him closer._

_“You said you’d show me… that you’d let me see Igneel again,” Natsu blinked, frowning a little. He didn’t recognise his own voice, and a creeping unease stirred in the back of his mind. A feeling that something wasn’t right, and this time when the voices tried to soothe him, he wasn’t pacified, even going so far as to take a step back. He was about to back up further when the mirror came alive, and all he could see was molten fire, sparks flickering against the surface, and he waited for it to hit him, but while the air had grown warm, the fire was contained to the mirror, alive beneath its surface._

**_Touch the surface, let your will guide it… it will show you Igneel._ **

**** _Gray had warned him not to touch anything when they’d first entered, but that had been more about avoiding causing damage…hadn’t it? And this was different. This was about Igneel. Surely Gray would understand that? Natsu hesitated a moment longer before nodding, stepping forward again and lifting his hand, eyes locking on the flames, caught in the call of the mirror once more. It seemed to him that the eyes of the dragons turned from amber to red as he moved closer, and it was as though he was in the middle of the flames as heat washed over him, surrounding him, overwhelming him, and despite his affinity with fire it made him stumble. Staggering forward, until his fingers found cold glass in the middle of the maelstrom._

_It was a brief relief._

_Because the moment his fingers splayed against the mirror, fire – foreign and all-consuming shot up his fingers, seams of blood-red spreading up his wrists. It hurt, a sickening burn, but when he tried to pull his hand away, it wouldn’t move. Worse, the mirror was shifting, the glass giving away beneath his fingers, pulling him inside and he cried out as he flung himself backwards trying to escape._

_He couldn’t pull free._

_His wrist was in the mirror now… then his elbow… and the markings were spreading, curling around his guild mark and up on to his shoulder, and he was screaming now. Or, he thought it was him. Maybe it was the mirror, which had come alive, the dragons stirring, wings aflutter. There was no voice now, no promises, just rumbling laughter that set every nerve in his body on edge._

_“NATSU!” The shout was the only warning he had before Gray was there, and before he had a chance to say anything, the Ice Mage had hold of his arm, his magic flaring, ice spreading across Natsu’s skin, chasing the markings. The cold a soothing balm against the fires consuming him. The mirror glowed, turning red around the edges and Natsu could feel the pulling sensation intensifying, as the mirror fought for possession of him. “Get off him!” Gray was having none of it, lips drawn back in a snarl as he poured more and more magic into the ice, but Natsu could tell that the mirror was winning, its hold on him too tight._

_“Gray, stop…” He tried to push the Ice Mage away with his free arm._

_“NO!” Gray pushed his arm away, releasing his other at the same time and before Natsu could stop him, he had placed both hands on the mirror, sending his ice flowing over its surface. This burned in a whole different way, and Natsu cried out, and so did Gray just as the mirror released the Dragon-slayer letting him stagger back. Relieved, he pressed his arm to his chest, hissing at the pain, and then he realised that Gray was still holding the mirror, his back arched, and head tilted back in a silent scream._

_“Gray!” Natsu lurched forward, ignoring the pain in his arm, the markings now a deep crimson burned into his very skin, and wrapped his hands around Gray’s shoulders and wrenched him backwards. There was no resistance as the Ice Mage fell back with him, and behind them the mirror and ice shattered, covering them and the floor in thousands of sharp, pieces. Natsu hissed, cut in dozens of places, but he didn’t stop pulling Gray backwards away from the mirror. “Gray? Gray, are you okay?” He demanded, realising that Gray was making no effort to help him, feet dragging on the ground and when he halted, the Ice Mage slumped in his arms, dead to the world, and blood-red markings creeping up his arms._

_It was my fault,_ Natsu thought. The truth was written in the bandages covering his arms, the wounds the mirror had inflicted resisting both Wendy and Porlyusica’s attempts to heal them. Not that he minded, he would bear the pain a thousand times over if they could just find a way to heal Gray. The Ice Mage wouldn’t be in this state if he’d fought the pull of the mirror harder if he hadn’t been so desperate to find a clue about Igneel that he had ignored his partner’s warnings and his own uneasiness. _My fault…_ “You’ve got to come back to me,” he whispered instead, searching Gray’s face for some sign that the Ice Mage knew that he was there, and finding none. “Please…” he pleaded, voice catching, eyes beginning to sting again, and he buried his head against the hand he was cradling, willing the Ice Mage to come back to him. To give him the chance to apologise, even if Gray didn’t want to forgive him for this. To promise that he would stop changing the past, as long as Gray had a future.

_Please…_

**

The morning passed, noon came and went, and now there was a change. While the markings were still spreading, reaching Gray’s chest now and curling up towards his throat, adding an echo to each breath that had everyone on edge, they were also changing. Darkening around his hands and feet, a darkness that could only mean something terrible. Natsu could see it in Porlyusica’s expression when she examined Gray, and in the tears, he caught glistening in Wendy’s eyes as they moved away to talk with Makarov and the others. He’d followed them with his eyes for a moment, before turning back to Gray. Unless they had answers – which they would tell him right away – he didn’t want to hear any more reassurances, and hopeful promises, not when Gray was looking worse by the moment, and that awful sweet smell was growing, rising until it was all that Natsu could smell.

 _Fight this Gray,_ he pleaded, leaning forward to brush Gray’s hair out of his face, fingers lingering for a moment against his cheek. He missed the chill that was usually present, for all that he often grumbled about it, but the heat coming from Gray terrified him. It reminded him of the burning in his own arms, and beneath the bandages, the burns itched as he wished that he could take that away from Gray, that he could spare him the pain that he was in, and he found himself snatching his hand away from the Ice Mage’s face. As though he no longer had the right to touch him, and maybe he didn’t. Not when he had caused this to happen, not when…

“Natsu?” He turned so quickly he nearly toppled out of his seat, wide-eyed as he realised that people had gathered around the bed without him hearing. _Had he really been that distracted?_ Lucy and Erza were there, the former holding Happy in her arms. He felt a pang of guilt for ignoring the Exceed…and his friends as he took in their exhausted features, but already his attention was turning back to Gray, terrified that if he looked away for a moment too long, the Ice Mage might slip away from him. Behind them, Wendy was wringing her hands together, and staring from him to Gray with teary eyes, but his attention was riveted on Porlyusica and Makarov who looked grimmer than Natsu had seen him in a long time.

“What is it?” _Please, don’t say it…_ He wasn’t blind, he knew that Gray was getting worse. Could almost feel the Ice Mage slipping away from him with each ragged breath, but he wasn’t ready to hear it said aloud, to admit that this might be a battle that couldn’t be… _He wasn’t ready._

“Porlyusica thinks that there is something that we can try…”

“What?” Natsu interrupted Makarov, not caring about the details. If there was something, anything that might help Gray, then they needed to do it. Didn’t they realise that they were losing him? That Natsu was losing him?

“Natsu,” Makarov’s voice cracked out like a whip, and there was a warning in his voice that told Natsu to listen. “You need to hear all the details before you agree, this isn’t something that you can just rush into, even if… well, listen to what she has to say okay?” Natsu nodded, catching the hesitation and wondering what they had in mind. Squeezing Gray’s hand as he silently promised the Ice Mage that he would do anything it took to bring him back, no matter the cost, even as he turned towards Porlyusica with pleading eyes.

“What I am suggesting is dangerous, to both yourself and Gray,” she started, and Natsu saw Erza grimace and exchange a worried look with Lucy and Happy – they didn’t like this plan. “And, if you don’t feel that it's possible then say so, and we will find another way.” She waited until he nodded, before taking a deep breath and stepping closer, making sure that he was focused on her and not Gray. “This curse is fire-based, and Gray has lasted this long because his ice magic is fighting back against it, but it’s not enough. Not against a curse. However, your flames might be enough to burn it out of Gray…”

“… We told her about what happened when you fought with Jackal, and how you adapted to his curse power,” Lucy interjected, looking as though she regretted having brought it up at all. Still, Natsu felt a spark of hope at her words, although he didn’t let it grow into anything else.

“But I didn’t stop his curse power. I was able to absorb the damage, but it was still there,” he pointed out, his stomach sinking at his own words. “And even if I was able to burn it out him, wouldn’t I risk burning Gray?” He knew that he had hit on the flaw in their plan, as soon as he said it, seeing his friends flinch, Makarov close his eyes and Porlyusica nod.

“It’s a risk,” she admitted. “But whereas that curse is running wild and unchecked, you would be focused. And I believe that you could control it enough not to burn Gray alongside it, it wouldn’t be easy, and I can’t lie and say there aren’t risks. We can’t guarantee that you won’t affect Gray, or that this won’t make it worse and it’s dangerous for you as well, as it would put you in the curse’s path again and…” She gestured at his hands, not needing to finish. They all knew how it would affect him, and he would have been lying if he didn’t say that part of him wanted to refuse, curling in on it’s at the thought of facing that pain again.

“Natsu, it’s too risky…” Erza finally spoke up, her disapproval for the plan clear in her expression and her words.

“Is there another way?” Natsu interrupted, focused on Porlyusica.

“I…” Natsu stared at her, refusing to hear a half-truth and the healer shared a look with a Makarov. “We don’t have another way at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be able to…”

“I will do it,” Natsu said quietly. He’d known his answer from the moment they’d said they might have something that could help Gray. He looked at the Ice Mage and swallowed thickly. He was terrified. He knew what they had so carefully avoided saying, was that if this went wrong if he couldn’t control his flames properly or it was too late, or any number of things, he could lose Gray.

That he could be the one to push Gray over the edge that he was hovering on the edge of.

“Natsu…” Lucy and Happy said together.

“It’s Gray…” Was all he could find to say in the face of the fear. It was all he had, and it was an answer in and of itself, and clearly, they realised that because they didn’t push any further. “I…when?” He asked, looking back at Porlyusica and avoiding the thunderous expression on Erza’s face.

“You need to rest and eat something, you’ve been here ever since you got home,” Makarov was the one to reply, in the rare tone that told them that he wouldn’t accept anything less than agreement and obedience, and Natsu’s mouth snapped shut on a half-formed protest.

“Tonight, would be best,” Porlyusica added, after a lingering look at Gray, and Natsu knew that what she really meant was that it might be their only chance and he nodded as he followed her gaze to the Ice Mage. He felt odd, caught in some strange space between hope – because they had a chance – and terrified dread because that chance could come at too steep a price. _But it’s a chance, which is better than some possible solution that we might not find in time,_ he told himself, wishing that it sounded more convincing even in his own thoughts.

“Tonight,” he echoed, still looking at Gray. _I’m going to bring you back tonight, no matter what it costs,_ he promised, hoping that his feelings would reach wherever the Ice Mage was trapped at the moment.

“Natsu…” Erza started, and Natsu interrupted her again as he gently set Gray’s hand back on the bed with a last squeeze and got to his feet.

“Will you watch him for me? I don’t want him to be alone,” he asked, looking at her. He didn’t want to leave Gray, but he knew that Makarov was right. He needed to eat and sleep, having done little of either while watching over Gray, and as much as he hated leaving Gray’s side, he wasn’t going to put his partner at risk just by being stubborn now.

“I…of course,” Erza deflated at his request, and he smiled at her, knowing that it was little more than a grimace that came nowhere near his eyes. It was all he had right then, everything else was with Gray, trapped in limbo until this situation was resolved. “But…”

“I’m doing this,” Natsu said firmly as he moved past her, pausing briefly to rest a hand on Happy’s head. It was meant to be reassuring, but it made him feel worse, and from the way, the Exceed cuddled into Lucy, it hadn’t helped him either, and the Dragon-slayer beat a retreat. Trying to ignore the feel of their eyes between his shoulder blades, and the fear that gnawed at him with each step that he took away from Gray’s side, and it didn’t help that just as he was stepping out of the infirmary, he heard Erza speaking, her voice low, but not quiet enough to escape his sharp hearing.

“I don’t like this,” she was saying. “If it goes wrong and we lose Gray, Natsu will…” He fled then, not wanting to hear her finish giving voice to the deepest fear that had coiled tightly around his heart.

****

He hadn’t managed to rest. He’d gone back home and showered and forced himself to choke down some food that had tasted like ash in his mouth, but their bedroom had smelt too much like Gray, and as he lay in their bed, all he could think about was how Gray wasn’t there. The couch had been no better, because they spent as much time cuddled there as in their bed, and in the end, he’d fled to the forest. Wandering around until his legs ached, and he’d sunk down beneath a tree and buried his head against his knees.

_Gray, what if I…?_

There was no answer, and no one to give him one. Apart from the dread coiling in his chest and in the pit of his stomach, and he gripped his wrists, focusing on the pain of the burns beneath the bandages. _No. I’m going to fix this, no matter what,_ he pressed harder, remembering when he had worn another bandage.

_Igneel, please…help me._

*

As the sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon, he returned to the guild, and he knew that news about what was happening had spread because silence fell the moment that he entered. He didn’t look at anyone, putting one foot in front of the another, as he focused on gathering his magic. It had been instinctual when he’d fought Jackal, a desperate measure learned on the fly. He couldn’t let that happen here, he had to find a way to control it or Gray could be caught in the fallout.

It was a relief to get away from the guildhall, but the atmosphere in the infirmary was worse, and for a terrifying moment, he thought that something had happened to Gray. His fear must have shown through, because Lucy who had been sat next to Gray moved so that he could see that the Ice Mage was still there, mostly unchanged, although Natsu could tell that the markings had spread and darkened further, having committed the pattern to memory through the long hours of watching him.

“I’m ready,” he announced into the silence, not feeling at all ready and hoping that no one would call him on the lie. He could see Erza opening her mouth, but then she looked at Gray, and her shoulders fell, and she subsided with a shake of her head much to his relief.

“Wendy is going to enchant you to give you the best chance possible,” Porlyusica explained as he approached Gray’s bed, and he nodded, hearing the words she hadn’t said – _because it’s our only chance._ He looked at Wendy and tried to smile for her, knowing he had failed when her breath hitched. “After that, I’m afraid it’s down to you.”

“I understand,” he murmured, gently nudging Lucy as he reached her side. As she rose to let him take her chair, he stopped her before she could move away. “Can you hold on to this, just in case…” He didn’t finish the sentence, he didn’t need to her as he handed her his scarf carefully folded, and an envelope with Gray’s name written on it in his messy scrawl. Lucy didn’t speak, but her hands trembled as she accepted them in one hand, before hugging him quickly and stepping out of the way.

Natsu wished that one of them would say something, just to stop the pounding of his own heart that was drowning out everything else, including the sound of Gray’s ragged breathing as he stepped in closer and sank into the chair Lucy vacated. “Are you ready for this?” He whispered to the Ice Mage, still hoping for a response but there was nothing, Gray’s fingers lax in his as he grasped his hand between his and squeezed. _I’m not going to lose you,_ he promised, before nodding at Wendy.

“Ile Arms! Ile Armour!” He wasn’t sure her magic would protect him from the curse, but he appreciated the thought none the less, as he felt the heady rush of her magic augmenting his. Usually, he loved the sensation, today it felt like a death knell, and there was a lump in his throat, as he reached out to take Gray’s other hand, holding both of them tight. Here the marks were jet black, and when he closed his eyes, he realised he could feel the curse just beneath the surface, a malevolent fire just waiting to consume.

And it had spotted him.

It felt as though he had been yanked forwards – just like he had with the mirror – but he knew that he hadn’t moved, his body rigid in the seat beside the bed. It was everything else – his mind, his soul that had been pulled inwards, and he had to resist the urge to fight against the pull of the curse. _Burn it out of him,_ Porlyusica had said, and for that, he needed to go with it, to let it touch him again, let it try and lay claim to him once more and hope that this time he was strong enough to pull both himself and Gray free.

He slammed into something hard and cool, and for a moment he thought it was Gray’s ice, but when he lifted his head, it was to find himself face to face with the mirror once more. Only now the dragon’s eyes in the frames were pitch black, and the molten fire that had been contained within the glass before, now stirred the surface, like bubbles in a burning pan. ** _We knew you would come back for him,_ **the voice mocked, but he ignored it. It had led him astray once before, and now there was more at stake. He looked around, searching for some sign of where Gray was in this mess, a chill in the air despite the flames, telling him that Gray had to be nearby and fighting. Fighting and losing ground, because now that he was focusing, he realised that he could hear the beat of Gray’s heart, slower than his, and feel a softer, gentler magic wound throughout the curse, one that seemed to flicker here and there.

_Gray._

He turned his attention back to the mirror, just in time to see icy fingers emerge from the flames and brush against the mirror. From the other side. _Gray._ He moved forward, forcing back the remembered pain and fear that made him want to falter, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood as he stepped right up to the mirror. “Yes, I came back for him, and I taking him home,” he said as loudly as he could, laughter greeting his words, and he snarled as he felt his magic go, flames erupting around him. He could feel them fighting to run wild, whipped to a frenzy by his emotions, the curse, and Wendy’s magic, and he bit down harder on his lip as he fought to keep it focused and under control as he took a final step into and through the mirror.

It burned.

For a moment, that was all Natsu could focus on, because even though his own flames, the curse’s fire reached him, and he could feel it searing through skin and bone, trying to burrow its way deep inside to consume him and for a moment he faltered. Stumbling, and falling to one knee, unable to stop himself crying out. It hurt, and he could feel his magic losing ground, letting the curse press closer until he could all but taste it. _Gray._ He thought, reaching out and clamping down on his left hand, pressing into the burns there, the pain giving him focus. _I’m here for Gray, and I am getting him out of here._ It was enough to get him back to his feet, staggering slightly, crying out as he was buffeted by the curse as it pushed back against him.

“GRAY!” He shouted, letting it turn into a roar, fire gushing out around him in a wave. _Don’t hurt Gray. Don’t hurt Gray._ His fire ripped a path through the inferno and for a moment he caught a fleeting glimpse of Gray, fear flooding him as he realised that the Ice Mage was on the ground, sprawled on a rapidly shrinking patch of ice and seemingly unaware of Natsu’s presence. Then the curse surged, attacking Natsu from all sides, the inferno closing in on him once more and blocking Gray from sight once more.

But now Natsu had a direction, and he’d seen Gray. He fixated that image in his mind focused on it and stepped forward, flames dripping from each step. It was painfully slow going, the curse pushing back with every step, lashing against him with rising fury until it felt as though he was being burnt alive, barely able to see or think, sheer stubbornness keeping him going. Even with Wendy’s enchantment, his magic was flickering around the edges by the time he finally felt ice beneath him, and he nearly fell on top of the Ice Mage as his knees gave away again. He only just avoided it, landing beside him. “Gray! Gray!” He shouted, forcing the flames around his hands to retreat so that he could avoid hurting his partner. The bandages were long gone, burnt to a crisp, and as he reached out and started to shake Gray, trying to rouse him, the curse pressed against the old burns and markings burst to life against his skin once more and for a moment his vision went black.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he managed to force out around a whimper, barely able to make out Gray. The pain eased a little, the curse was listening to him, and he licked his lips, spitting out a mouthful of blood. “Let him go, and you can have me.”

**_We already have both of you._ **

“No, you don’t,” Natsu gritted out. “I am fighting you; I will keep fighting you. But let him go right now, and I won’t fight you.”

Pain blinded him, and he couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, and when he opened his mouth to cry out, the curse rushed inside. He was burning inside and out. He could feel it consuming him, searching him for any hint of a lie and even as it felt as though he was going to burst apart at the seams, he focused on Gray. He had a lifetime of memories, of feelings to draw on, and he forced them all out, holding back his flames, trying not to give in to the instinct to fight.

_Gray. As long as Gray gets out…as long as…_

He was released, falling forwards onto hands and knees, gasping and spluttering, feeling as though he was nearly dead already, any benefits from Wendy’s magic long consumed. A soft noise, had him looking up just as Gray’s eyes crept open, exhausted and pained, but relieved as their eyes met and Natsu crawled to him, reaching out to brush trembling fingers against his cheek. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his voice wrecked from screams he only half-remembered and Gray’s expression clouded with worry, and Natsu shook his head. “You’re going to be okay,” he added, before lifting his head to the inferno swirling in a barrier around them. “Do we have a deal?”

“Natsu…” Gray had barely managed to croak his name before the Ice Mage was seized by an invisible force and torn out of Natsu’s grasp before the Dragon-slayer could do anything. He whirled, just in time to see Gray being forcibly injected through the distant glimmer of what Natsu hoped was the mirror.

_Please…_

**_It is done._ **

The curse was back, pressing against him and Natsu could breathe, as it surrounded him, invaded him, and for a moment he was consumed by it, swept away by its power. Burning. Dying. A cry bubbling up on his lips. Then in some distant part of his mind, he felt something, the brush of cool fingers against his, squeezing his hand. _Gray._ Defiance roared to life in his chest, because he still had more to do. He needed to apologise, he needed to see with his own two eyes that Gray was okay, and for that, he needed to go back.

He needed to go home.

And to do that he needed to destroy the curse.

Flames erupted around his hands as he balled them into fists, pushing through the pain, and he felt a wind whipping around him. Wendy’s magic wrapping around him once more, and he gritted his teeth and forced himself back to his feet. **_What are you doing?_**

“Stopping you,” Natsu ground out, tasting copper, as fire crept up his arms and across his body. His flames. It felt like he had to fight for each flicker and tongue of flame, certain that his lip was damaged beyond repair as he bit down again, pushing back against the curse. Everything hurt, inside and out, and he wasn’t sure he could survive this even if he ended this, but that was fine. As long as Gray was safe, he was willing to accept any fate, and he lifted his head and grinned as the inferno around him shrieked, shifting, revealing walls of the markings that marred his arms and had been threatening to consume Gray. There was a menacing aura to them, each marking starting to glow red in turn and the pressure in the air forced Natsu back to his knees, driving the air from his lungs, and his vision was growing darker and darker.

_GRAY!_

Natsu dug deep through the life he had spent with Gray. The memories they hade made, from their earliest rivalry to their tentative friendship and ‘don’t die’ and on to more. Laughter. Tears. Anger. Fear. He made himself feel it all, some as painful as the curse pressing in on him all, and his own fire expanded around him, a protective sphere of soothing warmth. He fixed Gray in his mind, not as he had seen him here in this mirror, or as he had last seen him in the infirmary, laid low and covered with darkening marks, but standing tall and smiling at him, the smile that was reserved just for him. That lit dark eyes and chased away any trace of past shadows.

His Gray.

“Burn,” he whispered and poured everything that he was. Everything that they were into his flames.

Pushing back against the curse.

Slowly, steadily he forced it back. He couldn’t keep it back completely, and again and again, it broke through, lashing against him, and he didn’t dare look down at himself to see what damage was being done. Instead, he focused on moving, one unsteady step at a time, as the curse melted away before him, the marks appearing to turn to molten fire, dropping onto the floor where they turned to ash as he passed. Exhaustion and pain gripped him, and his vision as more shadow than anything at this point, every part of his body screaming at him to give up and collapse in a heap. He ignored it. Stubbornness keeping him upright and moving as he poured every last bit of his magic into the fire around him as from the darkness he saw a glimmer of light. Unable to think about anything else but getting there now, knowing that if his attention wavered for a second, then it would be over for him.

One step…

…two steps, three steps…

…four...

The mirror was in front of him, completely black now, from the frame to the glass. _Gray,_ he thought as he reached out and gripped the frame of the mirror and closed his eyes. _Burn. Burn it all away._ He had nothing left. Awareness trickling away from him as he felt metal beginning to melt beneath his fingertips, and it was all that he could do to tighten his fingers, as he fell forward waiting to feel glass…and instead finding nothingness, as he fell forward and forward…

*

“…Natsu!”

“Natsu!”

There were too many voices around him, too loud against the throbbing in his head, and Natsu groaned as he opened his eyes to ask them all to be quiet, only to blink as his hazy vision cleared enough to show that he was back in the infirmary.

He was back, but was…

“What’s with all the noise?” A quieter voice asked in the lull that had greeted Natsu’s eyes opening, and the Dragon-slayer lurched upwards. Barely registering the pain the movement caused, and there on the bed, Gray was pushing himself up looking exhausted and confused…and wonderfully awake and alert, and free of the blood-red marks that had marred his skin for days.

“Gray…” Natsu whispered, and dark eyes darted towards him, and he saw realisation and memory in that gaze, followed by panic as the Dragon-slayer found himself slipping, toppling out of the chair as his strength failed him. A smile on his face as he slipped into unconsciousness, unaware of Lucy and Erza moving to catch him, of Porlyusica moving to check on Gray who was trying to get out of bed to reach him.

Unaware of anything but the fact that he had brought Gray back.


End file.
